The Days Following
by Loralie
Summary: CHAPTER 3 POSTED!! R/R!! What happened after the dreadful night of Spectacular Spectacular? Depression, jealousy, anger, and pain...
1. Until My Dying Day

_Please review this! I love and ~need~ feedback to make my writing better and more enjoyable for you, the reader! Thanks!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything or any of the characters or ideas that have to do with Moulin Rouge. Okie-dokie?_

The Days To Follow

* * * * *

The sun seeped in through the window facing the familiar red windmill days after Spectacular Spectacular had debuted, with Christian still in the same white shirt and black vest from the dreadful night of Satine's death. Empty bottles of Absinthe covered the floor, and one in his hand. Pages upon pages of the script scattered about.

S_he's dead, gone forever_ he thought to himself, one solitary tear running down his cheek. Crying had now become an involuntary action, like breathing. Red from the endless act, his face was hanging down in sorrow. _How am I going to live on, my life was nothing before she came. She was everything now, I am nothing again. She was my inspiration for everything. I can't go on without her sun-shiny face illuminating my eyes._

He slowly walked to the door of his apartment, went to the stairs, and made his way up to Toulouse's studio. Not expecting or hoping to find anyone there, he trudged around the empty room alone with his thoughts for a few moments. Then, he went out on the balcony. With a glass of the beverage in his hand, he raised it up and said, "My last gulp of sweet Absinthe Here's to truth, freedom, beauty, and above all things, love." He stepped up on the railing, and with one last swallow, he fell to the garden of the Moulin Rouge

Soaring to the ground, he thought of her song. He was flying away from his problems, just as Satine had once wanted to do before. The few seconds of flying had abruptly stopped, as pain pierced Christian's body. He wanted to scream out, but all he could do was close his eyes

* * * * *

Harold Zidler, owner of the wondrous night club of Montmartre, was filled with anguish. Satine was like a daughter to him, But another thing, without her, there was no Moulin Rouge, no Sparkling Diamond. There was no Spectacular Spectacular.

He decided to go for a walk, to debate with himself whether or not he should close the prestigious gentleman's escape from the real world. He wandered out into the garden, past the elephant, Satine's room. And out by the windmill. Oh, the lights, the exciting electricity he had showed off. And there down on the ground about ten feet ahead, there was a mass of white, black, and red. What in the world is that? Zidler moved closer to investigate.

_Oh my goodness, it's Christian_

Zidler ran over to him, only to find that he was unconscious, and his left arm was twisted in a very odd manor. His left ankle was swelling up, and several scrapes and bruises were arising on his face. Blood was trickling out of his mouth, and a few teeth were lying on the ground beside his deranged face.

* * * * *

_She should be mine. This is not the way it was supposed to end._ The Duke had been wandering around Paris mumbling pointless phrases such as these for the last two days. The night of the realization that the Maharaja indeed didn't win the courtesan's love, he wandered out of the garden, and instead of going to the Gothic Tower where he was staying. The jealous-filled man walked aimlessly about the city, not stopping to sleep or eat.

Oblivious to the fact that Satine was dead, he decided that he was going to back and take back what was rightfully his. And to destroy the Moulin Rouge and Christian. He started making his way back to Montmartre.

* * * * *

_Oh what a wondrous place this is_ Christian thought to himself. He was on a beautiful farm in the countryside. In the distance he could see the sunset framing the Eiffel tower. There was a lovely farmhouse a few yards away. He was standing in a picturesque field of daisies and daffodils. There was a cute little fence surrounding a pasture, full of grazing sheep, and off under the trees were two horses, lapping water from a meandering stream that glistened and reflected beautiful shades of pink, purple, and blue. It was a marvelous view.

Just then a woman in a gray dress and white apron stepped out of the door that faced the wondrous scene. "Satine! Satine! Come in, its about time for supper! You will more than likely need to wash up so GET IN HERE!"

_Oh Satine!_ He turned in the direction of running footsteps brustling in the sweet smelling grass. A little girl with pale skin and long, wavy, deep red hair came up over the hill and ran right past the bewildered man, as if she hadn't even seen him. His eyes followed the young girl into the house. The sun was now gone, the pasture now dark, except for the full moon and sparkling stars beaming down.

_Oh my, my eyelids are so heavy. I can't keep them open _As well as his eyelids feeling weighted down, there was a terrible burning sensation coming from inside his head, all the way out as if his eyes were dissolving from within. He closed his eyes and all was dark. He fell into a deep sleep

* * * * *

When Zidler got up to Toulous's apartment, no one was there. Presently a cool draft of air cam and brushed against his aged skin. He looked in the direction of its origin to find that the balcony window was open, one small glass and a bottle of Absinthe just by the railing, shattered. He heard a painstaking groan from down below. Zidler looked over the edge and realized it was Christian, awakening from his unconsciousness.

_He jumped_

Harold stood for a moment in a state of shock. He shook his head and came out to his senses, and headed for the door to go back down to Christian. Just then, there was another scream from Christian, only this time his voice was full of terror.

"No! No!" he hollered.

"Christian Now you are really going to find out the REAL ending." _That voice sounds so familiar_ thought Zidler. He gasped as he realized who's it was. _It's the _

The sound of a gunshot rang vividly through the silent air of Montmartre.

* * * * *

_What will happen to poor Christian? Will the Duke prevail in his evil plot of revenge brought upon by pure jealousy? You'll just have to wait to read the next chapter. _

_Please review this! I love and ~need~ feedback to make my writing better and more enjoyable for you, the reader! Thanks!_


	2. Jealousy Has Drivin Him Mad

Author's note: Okay everyone.. that first chapter might have been a teensy weensy bit confusing. Let me assist those who thought so. What's goin on is that each little section is the point of view from a different character. They're all pretty much on the same time slot, except for the Duke, and he's about a day behind everyone, but he's gonna catch up in this chapter. And when he does, everything will be clear (hopefully). The thing with Christian and the field.. he was unconscious, and this is what he was envisioning.

Another thing I forgot to put in that after Harry found Christian on the ground, he went to go find the Doctor up in Toulouse's studio. That's why he went there.

And of course, as always, I don't own any of these characters. But boy oh boy do I wish I owned Christian! ;)

Hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's a little shorter than the last one, but I figured people might forget about my story. So I posted it sooner than I expected to. I'll continue to work on it though. And remember: review, review, REVIEW! Thanks!

* * * * *

The Duke of Monroth had found his way back to Montmartre. But since he had been roaming for three days with no sleep, his feet could carry him no longer. His legs collapsed, and down the Duke went, just in front of the entrance of the Moulin Rouge.

* * * * * 

A long night of can-can dancing, drinking, and pleasuring had come to an end, finally. _Harold Zidler doesn't know what I have to do for him_, Nini thought. _Well, who I have to do for him_ - she chuckled to herself - _and his precious Moulin Rouge. But what about Satine? It is too bad that she had to die, and at such a young age, but who's going to be the Sparkling Diamond now?_ She walked out of the main dance hall and into the garden. _It better be me._ Nini was definitely the best dancer there - (after all, they didn't call her Nini-Legs-In-The-Air for nothing) - even when Satine was alive. But now that she was gone

_Who's that poor sap?_ She noticed a new, well, different customer passed out in the middle of the street in front of the main entrance. _Oooh, it's the Duke._ _How interesting _She went over to him and kneeled down beside him. "Oh mister Du-uke!!" she gently shook him until he came to.

"Mmmuhoy" he moaned. When his eyes focused, he realized that it was Nini. Remembering his task, he demanded, "Nini - where in bloody hell is that writer? Probably off with MY Satine no doubt. Oh, when I find him, I'm going to --"

"Hey! Calm down there sonny. Christian has been up in his loft for the last couple of days. And haven't you heard? Satine is --"

The Duke reached into his suit jacket and pulled out his pistol. He started toward the hotel just behind the windmill. "Hey wait just a minute!" Nini grabbed his arm, but it was no use. Just then they heard a familiar voice. " -- And above all things, love." As they both were trying to figure out who that was, and what that person meant by it, they heard a loud thud as something hit the ground, hard.

The Duke only paused momentarily, then kept on his way to the flat. Nini, on the other hand, went to see what it was that fell. As she made her way towards the noise, Harry ran past her, with a concerned and tragic look on his face, nearly knocking her down. _Bloody idiot._ She went over to what she thought was the source of the strange sound. _Oh look, another bum who toppled over drunk _Then she took a closer look, and realized then that it was Christian.

"DUKE!!! He's over HERE!!" she hollered. And within a moment's notice, she saw him running over. She caught sight of the pistol he still held out. He had just about reached the poor soul lying on the ground. _Hey I got an idea._ But it was just about too late. The Duke was feet away from Christian. "Wait!!" she cried.

"Ohh" Christian had awaken from his state of unconsciousness. As he opened his eyes, he saw the evil who had almost raped Satine coming closer, with his pistol cocked. "No!! NO!!" He weakly screamed.

"Christian - Now you are really going to find out the REAL ending." the Duke said moments before Nini ran into him, in hopes that he wouldn't shoot and kill Christian. But the shot had gone off. _Oh dear God - I hope he missed_

* * * * * 

Okay everyone. It's time to review! Tell me what you think.. like it? Don't like it? Tell all! THANKS! I hope you were thouroughly pleased with this chapter. :D


	3. The Sparkling Diamond-Dog

Author's Note: Finally! Chapter 3!! All of you fine readers can finally find out (for now) what happened to Christian after the gunshot went off! I know, I know, you're tired of hearing that phrase, but it'll only happene once more so be happy! I really liked writing this chapter, so I hope you all enjoy reading it! Remember to REVIEW! Coz I LOOOVE Reviews!! They give me more enthusiasm to write the next chapters!

* * * * *

"How about anothah wound of dwinkth?" Toulouse was drunk, again. Along with the rest of his Bohos, they were where they usually were at six o' clock in the morning, after their night of festivities. The local Absinthe bar located just around the corner of the Moulin Rouge. 

"I think that's been enough for you old pal. Let's get on home." Satie had had just about enough. Although no one knew, he hated that stuff. He only drank it to fit in with the other Bohos. He'd had a rough childhood. Since he was a musician in a town full of descendants of the early vikings, he was ridiculed often for enjoying to play the piano. He was very insecure, so now that he finally had a group of fellow musician buddies, he didn't want to be cast aside.

The group got up and made their way toward the door, the Argentinian leading them. "You know," he said. "It's such a beatiful morning. Maybe we should go --" Suddenly, but not surprisingly, the man went cross-eyed, then passed out right in front of the door, tripping the Doctor.

"I wish there was something I could do about that darn Narcolepsy!" He exclaimed while brushing off his pants.

"-- for a walk." The Argentinian had once again popped right back up, and finished his sentence.

"Or maybe," replied Satie. "We should just get back to the studio. I've been meaning to do a little composing lately. Maybe it will help us all feel better to hear some music." They started back to their humble abode, this time the Argentinian following, and had just stepped in the door, just as something had caught his eye. _What is the Duke running over here for? Hmm_

"Hey guys! Guess who's running over this --" The Argentinian man fell down the stairs, making a comotion of noise. 

"Man can't he thtay awake foah five minuteth?" commented Toulouse. Satie went over to see who the now unconsious man saw coming, only to find that there was nobody there. _Must have been that stupid Absinthe making him hallucinate again._ "Hey," continued the dwarf. "Did you guyth jutht heah thomething?"

Suddenly, Harold Zidler was seen at the top of the staircase. When he say the Bohemians, he screamed, "Where have you guys been?! I found Christian unconsious by the windmill a few minutes ago, and I came to get the Doctor, and you weren't up here! I went to the balcony and saw that he had jumped. Then I heard the Du--" Then they all heard the loud shot of a pistol right around the corner.

* * * * *

"What in the WORLD are you DOING?!" the Duke was outraged. He had finally had the cance to kill that blasted Christian, and Nini had pushined him, messing up his aim, so he bloody missed. And now the Bohemians and that wretched traitor, Harold Zidler, were running to save their precious writer.

"Here, get Christian's legs, I'll take his shoulders," Nini instructed. "DUKE? Pay attention!" The Duke was bewildered. Why was the prostitute actually trying to help him? "C'mon, I'll explain later!" The two picked up the lame man, and ran off to the Gothic Tower.

When they finally got there, Nini asked, "Hey Duke, you got any secret rooms or dungeons in here or something? We'll hide him in there."

"Woman, what is the purpose of all of this?!" the Duke was irate. He was so used to being in total control.

"Oh don't you worry dear Duke, I have this all planned out." Explained Nini, while they carried Christian through many secret hallways, to the scarcely known parlor. "So we have the poor, depressed, beloved Christian locked in this room. And Zidler and his Children of the Revolution' come crying to us, Give him back! We need him, we want him, we can't live without him!' and that blasted Toulouse Wetuhn Chwistian to uth!! Pweath!!' But we'll keep him till they come crawling and begging on their knees, telling us they'll give ANYthing to get Christian back. THAT'S when we start to set the terms for ransom."

The Duke's eyebrow raised in curiosity. _How intriguing_, he thought to himself. "And what exactly are we going to trade him over for?"

"I'm glad you asked." Nini continued her plans. "Since Satine is dead, Zidler no longer has a Sparkling Diamond, or a starring role for Spectacular Spectacular. So Whatever is he to do?"

__

This girl is a genius. The Moulin Rouge, of course. Conjured the Duke.

"We tell him that he has to make me, Nini, the best dancer in Paris, the Sparkling Diamond and --"

"WHAT?!?! You expect me to help you in this plot just so you can be a famous CAN-CAN DANCER?? I'm sorry woman, but you cannot expect me to be so foolish."

"Hey, you didn't allow me to finish! As I was saying, I'll be made the new Sparkling Diamond, and YOU will be the new owner of the Moulin Rouge."

"What?"

"Just think, you'll be running the most exotic, ravishing, sensual night club in all of Europe. Men from all around will be here to throw their money and diamonds at us dancers, all of the proceeds going to the Duke of Monroth Charity fund. You'll be in upmost control, and be able to do who, uh, I mean whatever you want, whenever you want to. You'll be the richest man in Paris, exceeding the royal family. And you'll constantly be surrounded by beautiful women. What more could you want?"

This idea seemed rather clever to the Duke. "So all we have to do is keep Christian locked up and all that will be mine?"

"You mean _ours_," Nini corrected.

"Yes, yes, of course," said the Duke. "So all of that will be ours?"

"Yep. So are you in, or are you out?"

* * * * *


End file.
